Armani sets sights on US expansion

Still going strong in his seventies, Italian powerhouse designer Giorgio Armani has outlined an ambitious plan for expansion in the US, which includes a mega store on Manhattan's Fifth Avenue. The fashion house will spend $100 million over the next three years to beef up its US wholesale and retail operations, renovate existing stores, open new stores and relaunch the Armani Jeans line in department stores.

The crowning glory, a 47,000 square foot store on Fifth Avenue, will open in fall 2008. The location currently houses the Hugo Boss flagship store. The new complex is based on the Armani store on Via Manzoni in Milan, which was rolled out in Hong Kong and Munich, and which will hit Tokyo this November. The US complex will house the brands Giorgio Armani, Emporio Armani, Armani Jeans, Armani Junior and Armani Casa, as well as offering Armani and Emporio Armani accessories, watches, eyewear, jewellery and perfumes. In all likelihood it will also include a sweet shop, a restaurant and bar, and a beauty area.

Armani chose Fifth Avenue as the location for his flagship because it "represents one of the world's unique fashion retail destinations". He told WWD that the store will reflect the world today: "international, cosmopolitan, multicultural, and, above all, contemporary."